you need some bruises to know you're alive
by lowi
Summary: Sometimes it has to hurt, sometimes it has to pull you down in the depths, and sometimes it makes you smile. /drabble collection, any eras, types, characters - is taking request! Latest drabble: AlbusScorpius
1. Chapter 1 Fredi & Hermione

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Fredi & Hermione. _Height_.

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Once, there was a girl who was afraid of heights. She kept this a secret, and vowed to never tell anyone. Because it made her feel so vulnerable, and she wanted to be strong.

If someone asked her why she never played Quidditch, it wasn't because of her fear. It was because Quidditch was a silly sport and she had better things to do.

If someone asked her why she always stood one step behind everyone else in the Astronomy Tower, it wasn't because of her fear. It was because she saw much better that way.

And thus, she did feel stronger. No one found out and the vulnerability slowly disappeared—though her anxiety about being too high up from the ground didn't fade away the slightest. But that didn't matter, because she felt now as though she couldn't be harmed because of it; it was only a little trait of her that she preferred unexposed.

Then he came: the boy that looked right through her, the boy that she had been trying to hide it the most from. Because she had known if he found out, everyone would.

But he still came. And did find out. But he didn't say anything at all.

They stood together underneath the big tree in the garden at The Burrow, and, silently, he grabbed her hand.

They climbed the tree, that night. Together, and the girl had never felt freer.

Maybe she didn't need to have her feet on the ground all the time.


	2. Chapter 2 Remus & Tonks

_A/N: I've decided to turn this into a drabble collection instead of posting all my drabbles that I've got saved on my computer into different stories. I hope you'll enjoy! Feel free to leave requests, I write anything. And thanks to mew (mew-tsubaki) for betareading._

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For the Dribble Drabble thread. Remus & Tonks. _Cold fire. _

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At first, there was only the cold fire that raged through her body when she saw him. It happened so suddenly, she didn't quite know what it meant. Everything on the outside was confusion and denial, but the flames would keep flaring inside of her, unable to stop.

So she decided it was better to keep going, just accept what her mind had created. But she had never expected it to be like this.

It should have been easy, it should have been perfect as soon as she let go. Wasn't it so that everyone told you to jump off that safe and familiar cliff, and that you would land softly?

She didn't do that. Instead it was hard, bone breaking, destroying her and crushing her. Every time his eyes refused to meet hers, every time his mouth turned into an upside-down smile, the fire inside her turned to ice. It wasn't cold—it was freezing.

But suddenly everything changed. And it happened as normal and unannounced as when the sun rose. She didn't want to ask why, in fear of everything disappearing and that he would realize that he'd made a mistake.

So she just smiled. And it felt so good, at last. She knew everything would be fine now, everything.


	3. Chapter 3 Dominique & Lee

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Lee & Dominique. _Burning_.

* * *

He spotted her when he was visiting George's shop. She sat in a corner and looked out through a window, her eyes shining and reflecting the blizzard outside. He looked away, because her hair was too silvery and too long, and her fingers were too slender and too pale.

(But he wouldn't forget.)

She didn't see him, at first. It was when he turned around and a floorboard creaked that she realized someone had been standing in the doorway, that there was a reason for the sudden cold wind. His back was to her, but the water drops in his hair were like tiny jewels, and when he took his coat off she caught a glimpse of tanned skin and darkdarkdark eyes. She looked away, because she didn't want to blush in front of him.

(But she wouldn't forget.)

The next time they met it was in the darkest corner of a Muggle bar, and they couldn't really remember afterwards if it had been planned or just by accident. There was just so much else about that night they wanted to savor. Like the burning feeling when their knees brushed together, like the heated softness of their lips finally meeting, and that inkling that this was so forbidden and so wrong—but still so right and so perfect.

It would end there, too. But they would never forget.


	4. Chapter 4 Andromeda & Lucius

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Andromeda & Lucius. _Betrayal._

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It had always been their greatest secret, something of which they didn't want to speak, something of which they didn't dare to speak.

They weren't sure why they didn't tell anyone about the two of them, as no one would have disapproved. It just felt as though that would have made what they shared more fragile and less sacred.

That if everyone knew, then the dreamy, unreal aura their meetings had would be defiled.

So when she suddenly announced to the world in a loud voice and with a proud smile that she was going to marry a _Mudblood_, it was the hugest betrayal in the world for Lucius.

(But there was the little voice inside of him that whispered _oh so_ sweetly that "maybe it was only he who had thought it had meant _something._")

So he got his revenge by marrying her sister.

(But it always felt as though it was he who had lost, that the vengeful plan had hit him instead of her.)


	5. Chapter 5 Draco & Astoria

For Maddie (all the lonely people).

Draco & Astoria. _Stars_.

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And the stars were shining and there were so many and it was all so clichéd. And Draco Malfoy shouldn't be doing anything clichéd. There was no need for it; there shouldn't be.

And yet, here he lied on a quilt with her hand in his and he smiled like an idiot. What was wrong with him?

Why couldn't he say "no" to her? She had come up to him after dinner and whispered, "Meet me outside in five," and the ear she had puffed her warm breath into had been all warm, and when she had walked away he hadn't been able to stop looking at her and the brown curls that covered her naked back and the way that her dress made her look as though she was a fairy, a creature from another world.

And then he had walked out and been so thankful for the coldness that was like balm on his burning cheeks (which he didn't even know why they were so hot). She had asked him to watch the stars with her, and he had agreed immediately. He hadn't even thought of "Draco Malfoy is _not_ clichéd."

But maybe he shouldn't think so much, maybe he should just go with it. What was wrong with being cliché? When it came to Astoria, he could be however clichéd he wanted, he decided, because it made his heart do some rather pleasant jolts.


	6. Chapter 6 Padma & Hugo

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Padma & Hugo. _Curious_.

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First it was the black hair. His eyes would be drawn to it, wandering across it, imagining what it would feel like underneath his fingers.

(She always had had a thing for redheads.)

Then it was the long fingers that flipped through the papers he just had handed her, which he couldn't stop looking at until she cleared her throat, and the pictures he would make up of them intertwined with his.

(She hadn't felt a touch on her body for so long.)

Finally, it was the eyes. It was impossible not to drown in them, and every so often he would realize he was caught in the waves of a black, blacker than coal, sea.

(His curious gazes made her smirk.)

But there were also the things he didn't want to admit. Like how young she looked even though she was…old. How intriguing, how rebellious it all was, how it made him feel a little less boring and a little cooler.

(She was flattered that he wanted her.)


	7. Chapter 7 Luna

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Luna. _"I don't believe in smiling anymore."_

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"Hey, sweetie, what's the matter?" Her dad twirled around in the chair as she entered his room.

"Dad, I just wanted to tell you something."

"Sure, what?"

Luna swallowed and took her dad's hand. She knew he wouldn't be content with what she had to say. "I don't believe in smiling anymore," she said, and it felt good having uttered the words.

Her dad's face wrinkled together, and he sounded as though he had something caught in his throat. "You…you don't. But why, Luna?"

"You said Mum would want me to be happy, I know." Her words were already planned, and she had practiced just how she should tell him this. "But I can't find something to be happy for anymore."

Her dad suddenly pulled her to him for a hug. It was warm, as usual, and still she couldn't form a smile.

It was just like that—one day she had gotten up from bed and realized it was impossible. She had tried fighting it, for her dad's sake, but now she had come to the conclusion that he needed to be told of her change of mind.

Suddenly something tickled her in her side. She let out a little "oh," and then her dad's eyes were there, glinting. "See? I knew you could smile."


	8. Chapter 8 Albusii & Scorpius

_A/N: This drabble is dedicated to Kat (__Kats in socks__), a wonderful friend of mine, who share my love for Al/Scor. Merry Christmas, Kat! I hope you'll like this, and that you had a great Christmas yesterday._

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For the Next-Gen Drabble Tag!

Scorpius & Albus. _Collateral__ damage._

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Scorpius suddenly, with his fringe hanging in his eyes, put his hands on either side of Albus so that he instead of lying on top of him was pushing himself up, but not further away than that, their breaths still mingled.

"I didn't mean to hurt her, Al, really…"

Albus groaned and grabbed Scorpius around his hips and pulled him back to his lips after mumbling, "We decided to call it collateral damage, can't you remember?"

A few minutes later—way too few—Scorpius rolled over to the side of Albus and his eyes were filled with laughter.

"What?"

"You…you…we…" Scorpius was now laughing so hard that his eyes were filled with tears, and his chest rose with every gasp of air. Albus felt himself blushing and dropped his head against Scorpius' smooth skin, but no matter how much he buried himself there, the giggling wouldn't stop erupting from his mouth.

Scorpius continued, finally, and his fingers were tangling themselves in Albus' hair. "Poor Lily," he began, not laughing anymore, but one could even hear how much he grinned. "I broke her heart, and you aren't kicking my arse or punching my nose or breaking my arms or…"

"You want me to?" Albus interrupted and met Scorpius' eyes with a little grin.

"Nope, I'm rather fond of making out with said brother instead."

And he wasn't the only one. Lily they would deal with later; they were way too busy here.


	9. Chapter 9 Salazar & Helga

For The Greatest Four—Drabble Tag!.

Salazar & Helga. _Firelight._

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The firelight danced in front of them; it was flaring and the only thing at which they dared to look.

Around them it was too dark because the night had come. And looking at each other wasn't right, either, because they were Salazar and Helga, and he wasn't supposed to care for anyone and she wasn't supposed to be drawn to him.

But he did care for her. When she had stumbled earlier, when running through the woods, he had halted without a second thought, taken her hand, and pulled her up with him. Even though she was nothing but a simple, meek girl.

And she was drawn to him. The smile he had given her when he said that they had to be safe now, it had been his usual content, smirking, I-can-do-anything-smile, but she still had blushed when she had realized she was smiling back. Even though he was nothing but a stuck-up, mean prat.

So instead, they just sat there, watching the dancing flames and not once averting their eyes from it. What a shame.


	10. Chapter 10 Seamus & Dominique

For the Next-Gen Drabble Tag!

Dominique & Seamus. _Sand_.

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"Wait, wait, are you _that_ Seamus Finnigan?"

"Which?" The man in front of her, the one she'd been flirting shamelessly with the whole night, narrowed his eyes in confusion.

It couldn't possibly be true, could it? Oh, it was just her usual luck, running into an old family friend…well, one that she only had been told of, as he had moved to…somewhere (that's what you get for paying attention, dear) after the war, when she had thought she had finally left everything behind her, when she finally was going to be alone.

And, oh no, now it all came back to her like a short drink—had she _really_ been bending forward when he was going to introduce himself so that he could get a better view down her dress? She wanted to kill herself, right now and right here.

"…I think you've heard of my parents," she said and pursed her lips. Inside her head, though, she was screaming. How big was the chance that you'd run into someone you knew at a freaking resort in freaking Spain? Like, really, it wasn't even funny.

:::

Half an hour later, though, when she had sand in her hair, sand _everywhere_, and the two of them were lying next to each other, his eyes glinting, and a giggle bubbling in her throat, it _was_ rather funny.


	11. Chapter 11 Jamesi & Marlene

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

James i & Marlene. _Spirit._

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"Yeah, that's the spirit," she breathes into your ear as you plant kisses down her neck and slide your hands up her shirt to the hook of her bra.

Suddenly you realize what you're doing and you push yourself up from her, because, fuck, this is so wrong, she's Marlene and not Lily, and you can't even believe you're doing this.

But she lays there with her hair splashed out on the pillow and her chest is heaving and her eyes scream at you. You swallow deeply and she grabs your shoulders and pulls you back.

"You want this," she whispers and she's so right, you want it, you want it, you want it more than anything else.


	12. Chapter 12 Scorpius

For the Next-Gen Drabble Tag!

Scorpius. _Caricature_.

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Scorpius laughed, in spite of himself. It didn't matter what he did, or how he did it, he'd never be a proper Malfoy. He always tried too hard and ended up a caricature—exaggerated and just _too_ much.

And, Merlin, if he had tried… It was the little things—like that period in third year when he had each morning drowned his blonde angelic curls in gel to make them lay flat. He still didn't like to think of how his dorm mates had rolled on the floor afterwards laughing at his new style.

Then there were the bigger things. Trying to get a reputation worthy of a Malfoy, mixing with the "wrong" people, and developing his bad boy side.

That had turned out not well, either. Because everyone knew that a Malfoy wasn't _really _bad. But, he had overdone it as usual, and now…now he actually found himself liking it.

Liking the piercing screams, the horrified eyes, and his friends' resentment in their eyes. The way it made him feel powerful, the way he had power.

It wasn't very Malfoy. Malfoys weren't supposed to succeed; they were supposed to regret and care about their family.

But Scorpius had always been more _Scorpius_ than Malfoy.

He continued laughing.


	13. Chapter 13 Roxanne & Lucy & Victoire

For Middy (contemplating being nocturnal)!

Victoire & Lucy & Roxanne. _Diamonds_.

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Lucy couldn't quite fathom what was happening. She often tried to figure it out, put a finger on what exactly it was that made her feel as though she had found the greatest treasure, a huge bucket of gold and diamonds, each and every day.

One morning, when Victoire stood on their balcony with her head wet from a shower and the sun's earliest beams shining on her and causing her body to form a perfect silhouette underneath her too-big shirt, Lucy thought that was it. The way Victoire was so vibrantly alive, was no one but herself when there wasn't someone else around. How she dropped each of her façades and looked so young and even more beautiful.

Another morning, Lucy thought she had been wrong and that she had found it out now, instead. Roxanne had apparently woken up awfully early and gotten up to surprise Lucy and Victoire with breakfast. But now, the table was only half laid, the tea kettle was boiling madly, and Roxanne was lying fast asleep on the floor with the most peaceful of looks on her face, her dark hair spread around her like a halo. That had to be it, it just had to be.

But then came another morning, a morning where Lucy woke up with their scents in her nose and Roxanne's fingers entwined with hers and Victoire's arm clutching her tightly, and the soft breeze from the open window making it look as though their swarming (silver-blonde and dark red) hair (and also some strawberry-blonde) on that pillow belonged only to one person.

That morning Lucy knew why she kept finding treasures, why the feeling didn't fade the slightest, what it _was_. It was them. Everything that was them.


	14. Chapter 14 Hannah & Zacharias

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Zacharias & Hannah. _Stardust._

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Hannah didn't know what made her do it, but so very often she found herself staring at Zacharias. It had crept upon her slowly, without notice, because days and months and years before she had never even deigned to send him a look, the boy with the snide remarks and overall un-Hufflepuff-y behavior. She really didn't like him.

But then another day came, and it was as if she had always thought Zacharias had hair that resembled stardust, and that his smirks were only him hiding something, that he really was this vulnerable, lonely boy and not the snobby one everyone else claimed him to be.

And she felt as if it was a mission for her; she had to help him through that, help him find himself and heal. She knew that was what she was meant to do, so she began flashing him smiles and show that she was there, that she cared.

A few days later, she was back to disliking Zacharias—or not really, because now she hated him so much she almost scared herself. And she really didn't want to think of what it was that made her feel so, thank you very much.


	15. Chapter 15 Draco & Louis

For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Draco & Louis (M&MWP). _Crimson red._

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The canvas in front of Louis is completely empty, and he's been staring at it for probably half an hour now. He just can't. He has to get it out somehow, he _wants_ to paint it, but it simply won't work.

He's done everything, he's completely ready to begin this painting, but it still feels as if there's something missing.

He has mixed the perfect colour, crimson red, because that's the colour the memories in his mind are taking, as they replay over and over in his head.

He leans his head against the white, untouched canvas and closes his eyes. Maybe it's because he still doesn't know what to feel about it that he can't paint it. Maybe he just wants to paint it so he can ignore what it really makes him feel, to put some sort of distance between it and him.

But it will never erase what really happened, no matter how empty the painting is right now. He is having an affair with Draco Malfoy, and some paint will never make it into to something else.

He quickly lifts his head, dips the brush in the paint, makes some fast strokes across the canvas, smiles to himself, and walks out of his apartment with the painting under his arm.

Draco is more than surprised to get a gift consisting of an almost empty canvas, with the exception of the letters "DM" and "LW" surrounded by a crimson heart.


	16. Chapter 16 Angelina & George

For the Romantic Drabble Challenge.

George & Angelina. _Rain_.

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Angelina wondered how long it would take for the skies to clear again. They had been covered in clouds for so long now, and she thought she'd go crazy if the sun didn't appear soon—she even doubted its existence.

But down fell only rain.

He hadn't said a word to her in three days, but now he finally broke down. Angelina didn't know what to do except to hold him and hear him sobbing "I miss him…damn, I can't…" in her hair.

She pretended the tears on his cheeks were raindrops.

She knew he loved her, and she knew she loved him. But when they walked away from their wedding ceremony to the car which would take them to their honeymoon, it began pouring down.

They were soaking wet in two seconds, and Angelina feared it was a sign.


	17. Chapter 17 Sirius & Remus & Regulus

For the Romantic Drabble Challenge.

Sirius & Remus & Regulus. _Transparent_.

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Remus found it interesting to compare Sirius with his younger brother—the brother one wasn't allowed to speak of, at least not with Sirius in hearing-distance, right?—because no matter how many differences there were, the similarities were just as striking.

Because where Regulus' skin was transparent and Sirius' softly tanned, it was for them both the soft shell that was hard enough to protect them from everything.

And where Sirius' eyes were silver orbs, glittering with laughter and burning with anger, Regulus' were dimmed, hidden away and not revealing a single feeling, though they still were of the same shade and just as surrounded by long eyelashes.

And where Sirius' lips were heated and furious, Regulus' were teasing and gentle, and both sets made Remus' body weak.

And of course, all these studies Remus had done on the Black brothers were purely academic.


	18. Chapter 18 Nicolas & Perenelle

For the Romantic Drabble Challenge.

Nicolas & Perenelle. _Shaking_.

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Her fingers are shaking and you know that—so are yours. But it doesn't matter, because the grasp you have of each other is firmer and more everlasting than anything else.

Her eyes are squinting and yours are seeing everything a bit clouded, yet you can see each other clearer than anything else because you have learned how and where to look.

Your breaths are slowing down and your skin is wrinkled and your hair is white as snow.

You can't wait to die any longer; you want it to happen now, now, _now_.


	19. Chapter 19 Remus & Lucy

**A/N: I've written the first story ever for this pairing, as well, so if you're interested you could check my story "for a passing moment, i felt loved" out! Or just read this one. Thanks for all of the reviews, by the way!**

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For the Dribble Drabble thread.

Remus & Lucy. _Nothing but a dream._

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At first, Remus didn't believe it. He stated thoroughly that it was nothing but a dream, that the girl with the blonde, knotted, and tangled hair was something his mind had created.

And it made him at the same time scared and proud of his brain's creativeness. Because really, what it had come up with, was unbelievable.

So it had to be a dream. It was too good to be true.

Lucy didn't agree with it, though. When he said something like that, how they weren't real (because being in a dream made it somehow okay to say such things), she kissed him even angrier, and her eyes burned even hotter, and then she asked him if he still thought he was dreaming.

He couldn't answer. He wanted to say no, but then he wanted to say yes, and then he wanted to say no again.

One day she disappeared, as abruptly as she had arrived, and he would stare into the sky without seeing and wish he had told her that—either way—it had been the best moment in his life, awake or asleep.


	20. Chapter 20 Marauders

For the Vivid Characters/Scenes in 100 words or Less thread at HPFC.

Marauders. _Threshold_.

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It was the changing point. It was the place of beginning. It was as though he'd woken up—as though his life up to this very moment had been a strange, cloudy dream, strangling him between sweaty sheets.

But now he had passed over the threshold and, oh, how alive he felt. Their eyes were sparkling at him, and they smiled, and even if they might've gleamed exactly as brightly before, Remus hadn't noticed it until then—it had been covered by the looming secrets.

But now they knew. And Remus' cheeks ached from smiling because they were still _friends_.


	21. Chapter 21 Albusii & Scorpius

For the OTP Boot Camp Challenge at HPFC.

Albus & Scorpius. _Whisper_. (Prompt 9.)

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He holds me closely and traces kisses down my spine with soft, just-almost-touching lips.

He is light-eyed and pink-cheeked and, when I turn over, his smile is shaky and temptingly happy, so before I know it I smile back.

Then his hands are whispering _I love you_ to my chest, and his touch is all I can notice, because the way it feels is more than I thought it was possible to feel.

We are closer than we ever have been before.

He asks me silently _Now? How?_ with fingers pressing into the back of my head where my hair is tousled and sweaty, and I answer, equally soundless, _Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes_, with hands that force him closer again.

His moans, that soon follow, blend with my gasps and his eyes shine with the strength of how much I love him. When he looks at me, I know I'm reflecting the happiness in those eyes.

Then, after, we breathe at the same pace and I am the same as him and he is the same as me—but still, I am so much more because he is everything.

Everything to me.


End file.
